Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology Multimodal Haptic Feedback for Robotic Surgery

Abstract Haptic feedback is the provision of force information to the surgeon via a simulated sense of touch, its loss being commonly cited as a major drawback of robotic surgery. The Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology haptic feedback system was designed as an add-on solution with compatibility in mind. Most of its interfaces to the robot were manufactured through a customizable 3D-printing process. The system’s sensory units utilize commercially available piezoresistive force sensors, mounted on the robotic end effectors via a 3D-printed mounting plate. Force signals detected by the sensory units undergo processing by a laptop computer instead of a microcontroller in order to allow maximal flexibility in the mapping algorithm. Multimodal haptic feedbacks, including normal force, vibratory feedback, and kinesthetic feedback, are provided to the surgeon’s fingertips with pneumatic actuators and vibratory motors mounted on the master console. The system is capable of inducing a significant reduction in grip force, reduced visual–perceptual mismatch, reduced suture failure, enhanced knot quality, and superior tissue characterization.